Worm-type dispenser for rimmed containers

ABSTRACT

A worm-type dispenser for rolled rim paperboard containers has a compression bead in the rim-engaging grooves of the worm to flex the central portion of the rim to render it more resilient so a cover having a rim contacting cylindrical skirt may be applied more easily.

United States Patent [191 Kinney [451! Nov. 26, 1974 WORM-TYPE DISPENSERFOR RIMMED CONTAINERS [75] Inventor: Alfred W. Kinney, Kansas City, Mo.

[73] Assignee: Phillips Petroleum Company,

Bartlesville, Okla.

22 Filed: June 15, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 370,532

[52] US. Cl 53/282, 53/37, 53/289,

221/222 [51] Int. Cl B65b 7/28, B6511 3/28 [58] Field of Search 53/282,289; 221/222 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 7/1960 Carew221/222 3,293,823 12/1966 Anderson ..53/282X Primary ExaminerGilWeidenfeld [5 7 ABSTRACT A worm-type dispenser for rolled rim paperboardcontainers has a compression bead in the rim-engaging grooves of theworm to flex the central portion of the rim to render it more resilientso a cover having a rim contacting cylindrical skirt may be applied moreeasily.

7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEJQVZEIQM 3.849.970

' sum 3 OF 3 FIG. 4 l

WORM-TYPE DISPENSER FoR' RIMMED CONTAINERS This invention relates tomethod and apparatus for sequentially dispensing containers having arim. In a specific embodiment, the invention relates to a system fordispensing, filling and capping containers having a rolled rim.

The rolled rim of a frusto-conical or round container produced ofpaperboard that may be coated and/or compensated with a plastic or othermaterial is a relatively rigid and stable ring surrounding the open endof the container. In order to form a complete package to containwhatever product may be used, a closure must be placed on the container.This is usually in the form of a disc of a size to cover theopening plusenough more to extend the disc to near that of the specified rimdiameter. A depending skirt extended from the outer periphery of thedisc frictionally engages the outer surface of the rim to retain theclosure on the container.

There must be sufficient closeness of dimensions between the outsidediameter of the rim on the container and the inside diameter of theclosure skirt to provide the required friction, yet not enoughinterference to prevent the closure from going on when being applied inthe capping unit of high speed packaging equipment. It is obvious thatthe rim diameter must not be below a certain specified limit and theinternal diameter ofthe closure skirt must not be above a maximumallowable limit or there will be no friction fit and the closure willnot stay on the container.

To achieve the above conditions, container forming equipment is usuallyadjusted to produce containers with rims at or near the maximumspecified limit and closure forming equipment is adjusted to produceclosures with the depending skirt inside diameter at or near the minimumspecified limit. Due to the many variables involved in producingcontainers and closures of paperboard, such as fiber length, moisturecontent, printing, coating, etc., it is extremely difficult to maintainclose tolerances. The result is a large percentage of products where theinterference between the closures depending skirt internal diameter andthe outside diameter of the rigid rim of the container is such that theclosure cannot be readily applied.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide meansthat will affect the rim in such a manner that the oversize containerswill accept the closures as applied. Another object of the invention isto provide a new and improved means for dispensing, filling and cappingcontainers having a rolled rim. Another object of the invention is toincrease the ease of capping a rimmed container. Yet another object ofthe invention is to improve the fit ofa closure on a container having arolled rim. Other objects, aspects and advantages of the invention willbe apparent from a study of the specification, the drawings and theappended claims to the invention.

This invention covers the method, apparatus, and end result of arelatively rigid rim having a predetermined portion of its outerperiphery transformed to a relatively flexible state during dispensingthat permits it to flex inward as the closure is applied and to springagainst the inside of the depending skirt of the closure when it is inplace, thus providing maximum frictional retention. Changing thecondition of the portion of the rim is accomplished while the containeris in predispense position while passing through the cup dispenser wormspirals. The center portion of the rim (that is the central portion ofthe rim when measured vertically with the container in a normalposition) is compressed inwardly so that the diameter of the compressedportion is substantially less than the original maximum outside diameterof the container rim. This action stretches the fibers in the materialand imparts a flexibility to the rim. The snap-back portion of the rimis readily compressed when the closure is applied.

In the drawings, FIG. I is an elevational view ofa filling and cappingmachine incorporating the present invention; FIG. 2 is a perspectiveview of the container dispensing mechanism of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a planview of the container dispensing mechanism; FIG. 4 is an elevationalview in cross section taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 3; FIG. 5 is anelevational view in cross section taken along line 5-5 in FIG. 3, with acontainer added; and FIG. 6 is a partial view in perspective of themechanism for transferring filled and capped containers to an outputchute.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a nested stack of containers 11 is supported bycontainer dispensing mechanism 12 and four vertical guide rods 13 overan endless conveyor 14. Each paperboard container 11 has a generallycircular horizontal cross section and is provided with an annular rolledrim l0 projecting outwardly and downwardly from the upper end or mouththereof. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, conveyor 14 comprises two parallelendless chains 15 and I6 and a plurality of container supporting members17 carried by chains 15 and 16. Conveyor 14 is indexed in a stepwisemanner by drive axle 18. During the dwell portion of each step or cycle,mechanism 12 separates the lowermost container 11 from the stack anddrops the separated container into the opening 19 in the containersupporting member 17 which is positioned in the container receivingstation below dispensing mechanism 12. Filler valve 21 is actuatedduring the dwell portion of each cycle to introduce the material to bepackaged into the container 11 positioned in the filling; station of theconveyor. If desired, a container lift mechanism 22 can be employed toraise the container 11 to be filled so that the outlet end of fillervalve 21 is inside the container and adjacent the bottom of thecontainer before the filler valve 21 is actuated. Mechanism 22 can thengradually lower the container as it :is being filled to provide uniformdistribution of the product in the container.

Closures 23 are fed into chute 24, the lower end of which is positionedover conveyor 14, in such a manner that the leading edge of thelowermost closure is contacted by the leading edge of the :rim of thecontainer 11 as conveyor 14 indexes the container into the cappingstation. The forward motion of the container 11 draws the engagedclosure 23 from chute 24, while the contact of the upper surface of theclosure 23 with a horizontal plate25 forces the closure 23 down onto therim of the container 11. If desired, container marking mechanism 26 canbe actuated during the dwell portion of each cycle to raise thecontainer 11 and the associated closure 23 into firm contact with plate25 to firmly seal the closure 23 on the container 11 and to applyindicia to the bottom of the contain-er.

During the dwell portion of each cycle, lift mechanism 27 is actuated toraise the filled and capped container which is in the transfer stationof conveyor 14 to a position above conveyor 14 and then transfermechanism 28 (FIG. 6) is actuated to move the elevated containerlaterally of conveyor 14 and onto an output chute 29.

In FIGS. 2 through 5, the container dispensing mechanism 12 isillustrated without its cover. A ring gear 31, having external gearteeth, is driven in the clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 3, by thedrive system comprising drive shaft 32, clutch plates 33 and 34, clutchshaft 35, and gears 36, 37 and 38. The ring gear 31 rides on a pluralityof bearings 30. Gear 36 has a slot 39 therein to receive pin 40 whenclutch shaft 35 is in the down or engaged position. Pin 40, whichextends through shaft 35 and is secured therein, engages gear 36 whenshaft 35 is in the down position to rotate gear 36 responsive to therotation of shaft 35. Shaft 35 can be latched in the up position bysuitable means (not shown) to permit access to the container dispensingmechanism 12 without shutting down the remainder of the machine.

Each of the six feed worm gears 4l46 is provided with an interlockedgear 47 which engages ring gear 31. Feed worm gears 41-46 are rotatedabout their respective rotating shafts 48 in the counterclockwisedirection, as viewed in FIG. 3, by the mounted worm drive gear 47 andring gear 31. The six worm gears 41-46 are positioned in a circulararray which is coaxial with the stack of nested containers, with thecylindrical axis of each worm gear being parallel to the elongated,generally vertical, axis of the stack of containers. Each of the feedworm gears 41-46 is in the form of a cylinder having a groove 51 in thecylindrical surface 52 extending in a generally spiral form from the top53 of the worm gear to the bottom 54 thereof. The vertical heightbetween opposite sidewalls of groove 51 is greater than the verticalheight of rim 10. The groove 51 can be enlarged at the upper end thereofto provide an initial shoulder portion 55 which is at least generallyperpendicular to the axis of the cylindrical surface 52. Each of theworm gears 41-46 is positioned to simultaneously receive in the groove51 thereof the rim of the lowermost container 11 in the stack.Immediately prior to the discharge ofthe lowermost container 11 by thecontainer dispensing mechanism 12, the rim 10 of the next highercontainer is supported by the top surface of each of the worm gears4146. At the moment or shortly thereafter that the lowermost container11 is discharged by the mechanism 12, the worm gears 41-46 have rotatedto the position where the initial shoulder portions 55 are under the rimof the next higher container and the rim of the second container is nolonger supported by the upper surface, thereby permitting the entirestack of nested containers to drop until the rim of the new lowermostcontainer rests on initial shoulder portion 55 of each worm gear. Thedistance between shoulder portion 55 and the top surface 53 is slightlygreater than the vertical height of the rim 10, but is less than thecontainer stacking distance, i.e., the distance from the bottom of therim of one container to the bottom of the rim of the next highercontainer. Thus, on the continued rotation of worm gears 41-46, leadingpoint 56 of each of the worm gears 41-46 enters the space between thetop of the rim 10 of the lowermost container 11 and the bottom of therim 10 of the'next higher container to support the second container onthe top surface 53 while the descending path of grooves 51 forces thelowermost container to separate from the second container and movedownwardly. When the worm gears 41-46 have rotated to the point wherethe trailing edge 57 moves out from under the rim 10 of the lowermostcontainer 11, the lowermost container drops into the pocket 19 of thecontainer supporting member 17 which is in the container receivingstatus of conveyor 14.

Each groove 51 has an inner wall or bottom 61 generally parallel to thecylindrical surface 52 of the respective worm gear 41-46, as well as anupper sidewall 62 and a lower sidewall 63. The vertical height from thebottom sidewall 63 to the top sidewall 62 is slightly larger than thevertical height of the rim 10 of container 11. The horizontal distancefrom the inner wall 61 of one of the worm gears 41-46 to the inner wall61 of the opposite worm gear, i.e., the diameter of the smallest circlewhich is coaxial with the ring gear 31 and tangent to each inner wall61, is slightly greater than the horizontal diameter of rim 10. Thecorresponding horizontal distance from the cylindrical surface 52 of oneworm gear to the cylindrical surface 52 of the opposite worm gear isless than the horizontal diameter of rim 10 but is greater than themaximum external diameter of container 11 below rim 10.

In accordance with the present invention, at least one of, andpreferably all, of the worm gears 4146 are provided a bead 64 extendingoutwardly along at least a portion of the length of inner wall 61 ofgroove 51. Bead 64 has a width, or vertical height, less than the widthof the groove 51 and is spaced from and preferably centered betweenupper widewall 62 and lower sidewall 63. In general, the width of bead64 will be in the range of about 0.1 to 0.8, preferably from about 0.2to about 0.7, and more preferably from about 0.3 to about 0.6, of thewidth, or vertical height, of groove 51. Each bead 64 extends along thegroove 51 for at least one-tenth of the length of groove 51, andpreferably for at least one-fourth of the length of groove 51. The bead64 has a sufficient horizontal thickness to cause the portion of thecontainer rim 10 which contacts the bead 64 to be compressed inwardly sothat the maximum outside horizontal diameter of the compressed portionof rim 10 is substantially less than the original maximum outsidediameter of the uncompressed rim. The inwardly directed compression ofthe central portion of the outer vertical wall of rim 10 breaks thestiffness of paper of the rim as well as forming the outer vertical wallof rim 10 into a generally corrugated configuration, thereby increasingthe flexibility of the rim. The compression of the rim 10 to thediameter of the circle which is coaxial with ring gear 31 and is tangentto the beads 64 at the closest point to the axis of gear 31 overcomesany variations in the maximum diameter of rim 10 due to variations inmanufacturing conditions, variations in humidity during storage, andvariations in type and thickness of the paper utilized to form container11. As the paper containers have an elastic memory, the rim 10 will tendto return to its-original condition. However, the recovery takes longerthan is required for the treated container to be dispensed into pocket29 of conveyor 14, filled and capped. Thus, the compression or crimpingof rim 10 by the beads 64 significantly improves the ease of moving aclosure 23 into place on the container. It is desirable that an evennumber, preferably at least four, feed worm gears be employed so thatthe worm gears would be in direct opposition to each other. It is alsodesirable that the number of worm gears be sufficient to assure that thefull circumference of the rim is compressed as the container rotates inthe dispenser.

Reasonable variations and modifications are possible within the scope ofthe foregoing disclosure, the drawings and the appended claims to theinvention.

That which is claimed is:

1. In an apparatus for dispensing rimmed containers having a generallycircular cross section from a stack thereof comprising a plurality offeed cylinders, each of said feed cylindershaving a groove in thecylindrical surface thereof extending in a generally spiral form fromthe top of said cylindrical surface to the bottom of said cylindricalsurface, each groove having an inner wall generally parallel to thecylindrical surface of the respective feed cylinder and upper and lowersidewalls, means for positioning said plurality of feed cylinders in acircular array which is coaxial with said stack of containers with thecylindrical axes of said feed cylinders being parallel to the elongatedaxis of said stack of containers, with each of said plurality of feedcylinders being positioned to simultaneously receive in the groovethereof the rim of a container in said stack, and means forsimultaneously rotating said feed cylinders to dispense a rimmedcontainer from said stack, the improvement comprising at least one ofsaid feed cylinders having a bead extending outwardly along at least aportion of the length of the inner wall of the groove thereof, said beadhaving a width less than the width of the groove in which it is locatedand being spaced from the upper and lower sidewalls thereof, and saidbead extending outwardly from said inner wall a predetermined distanceso that the diametrical distance ofa circular relationship formed bysaid grooves container rim is reduced by said at least one bead to besufficiently less than the diameter of said rim to cause the containerrim which contacts said bead to be compressed inwardly so that themaximum outside diameter of the compressed portion is substantially lessthan the origina] maximum outside diameter of the uncompressed rim,whereby a corrugation is formed in the outer most wall of the rim of thecontainer being dispensed.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein the width of said beadis from about 0.1 to about 0.8 of the width of the groove in which it islocated.

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein each of said feedcylinders is provided with a bead in the groove thereof.

4. Apparatus in accordance with claim 3 wherein there are at least fourfeed cylinders and wherein the width of said bead is from about 0.12 toabout 0.7 of the width of the groove in which it is located, and eachbead extends for at least one-tenth of the length of the groove in whichit is located.

5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 4 further comprising a conveyormeans having a plurality of container holders and having a containerdispensing station located so that a container dispensed from said stackof containers is received in one of said container holders, a fillingstation, and a capping station; filling means positioned above saidfilling station to dispense material to be packaged into a containerpositioned in the container holder at said filling station; cappingmeans positioned above said capping station to apply a closure to acontainer positioned in the container holder at said capping station;and means for indexing said conveyor means in a stepwise fashion; saidclosure having a skirt extending downwardly from the periphery thereof,the internal diameter of said skirt being greater than the maximumoutside diameter of the thus compressed rim and approximately equal tothe maximum outside diameter of the uncompressed rim.

6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 5 wherein the width of each beadis from about 0.3 to about 0.6 of the width of the groove in which it islocated, and wherein each bead extends for at least one-fourth of thelength of the groove in which it is located.

7. Apparatus in accordance with claim 6 wherein there are six feedcylinders.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION 3 s I D t dNovember 9 Patent No.

Al w. Inventor (s) Lred unney It is certified that error appears in theabove-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are herebycorrected as shown below:

Column 5, line 37, after "grooves" for receiving;

the should be insefieci.

Signed and sealed this 17th day of June 1975.

(SEAL) Atte st:

C. MARSHALL DANN RUTH C. MASON Commissioner of Patents Arresting Officerand Trademarks )RM PO'WSG 0459) us coMM-oc 003mm U 5 GO'EWNHENY 'RINYINGOFFICE

1. In an apparatus for dispensing rimmed containers having a generallycircular cross section from a stack thereof comprising a plurality offeed cylinders, each of said feed cylinders having a groove in thecylindrical surface thereof extending in a generally spiral form fromthe top of said cylindrical surface to the bottom of said cylindricalsurface, each groove having an inner wall generally parallel to thecylindrical surface of the respective feed cylinder and upper and lowersidewalls, means for positioning said plurality of feed cylinders in acircular array which is coaxial with said stack of containers with thecylindrical axes of said feed cylinders being parallel to the elongatedaxis of said stack of containers, with each of said plurality of feedcylinders being positioned to simultaneously receive in the groovethereof the rim of a container in said stacK, and means forsimultaneously rotating said feed cylinders to dispense a rimmedcontainer from said stack, the improvement comprising at least one ofsaid feed cylinders having a bead extending outwardly along at least aportion of the length of the inner wall of the groove thereof, said beadhaving a width less than the width of the groove in which it is locatedand being spaced from the upper and lower sidewalls thereof, and saidbead extending outwardly from said inner wall a predetermined distanceso that the diametrical distance of a circular relationship formed bysaid grooves for receiving the container rim is reduced by said at leastone bead to be sufficiently less than the diameter of said rim to causethe container rim which contacts said bead to be compressed inwardly sothat the maximum outside diameter of the compressed portion issubstantially less than the original maximum outside diameter of theuncompressed rim, whereby a corrugation is formed in the outermost wallof the rim of the container being dispensed.
 2. Apparatus in accordancewith claim 1 wherein the width of said bead is from about 0.1 to about0.8 of the width of the groove in which it is located.
 3. Apparatus inaccordance with claim 1 wherein each of said feed cylinders is providedwith a bead in the groove thereof.
 4. Apparatus in accordance with claim3 wherein there are at least four feed cylinders and wherein the widthof said bead is from about 0.2 to about 0.7 of the width of the groovein which it is located, and each bead extends for at least one-tenth ofthe length of the groove in which it is located.
 5. Apparatus inaccordance with claim 4 further comprising a conveyor means having aplurality of container holders and having a container dispensing stationlocated so that a container dispensed from said stack of containers isreceived in one of said container holders, a filling station, and acapping station; filling means positioned above said filling station todispense material to be packaged into a container positioned in thecontainer holder at said filling station; capping means positioned abovesaid capping station to apply a closure to a container positioned in thecontainer holder at said capping station; and means for indexing saidconveyor means in a stepwise fashion; said closure having a skirtextending downwardly from the periphery thereof, the internal diameterof said skirt being greater than the maximum outside diameter of thethus compressed rim and approximately equal to the maximum outsidediameter of the uncompressed rim.
 6. Apparatus in accordance with claim5 wherein the width of each bead is from about 0.3 to about 0.6 of thewidth of the groove in which it is located, and wherein each beadextends for at least one-fourth of the length of the groove in which itis located.
 7. Apparatus in accordance with claim 6 wherein there aresix feed cylinders.